


Starship Captain, Part I: The Early Years (2305-2323)

by mrpicard



Series: Starship Captain [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Gen, Kid Fic, early years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-20
Packaged: 2018-01-24 08:38:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 4,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1598558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrpicard/pseuds/mrpicard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean-Luc Picard's childhood and teenage years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the revised version of one of my most popular ficlet arcs.

_July 15th 2305_   
_LaBarre, France_   
  


 

He didn't want to be here.  
  
In fact, he wanted to run as far away as possible because everything felt... _wrong_.  
  
It was not a new feeling, however - everything had felt wrong ever since Maman had begun to look different. He had asked her about it and she had told him that there was a baby growing inside her.  
  
"Your little brother - someone to play with!" she had said.  
  
He had not liked the idea since he neither wanted nor needed someone to play with - all he wanted was for things to remain the way they had always been.  
  
A few days ago Maman had suddenly been in a lot of pain and Father had called for an emergency shuttle that had taken his parents to the hospital while he had been left behind with one of the vineyard workers. Father had returned a few hours later and had told him that Maman was alright and that they would go and see his little brother soon.  
  
He had been relieved that Maman was okay, of course, and yet it all felt wrong - just like it did right now in this hospital room where everything frightened him.  
  
"Robert? This is Jean-Luc, your little brother. Isn't he adorable?" his mother asked.  
  
He looked at the baby inside the crib in front of which he was standing and in that moment he realized why things had felt wrong ever since he had learned that he would have a little brother.  
  
The baby in front of him represented _change_.  
  
And if there was _one_ thing that Robert Picard hated, it was change.


	2. Chapter 2

_2307_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

 

"Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"  
  
Yvette jumped up from her chair. "What is it, Jean-Luc?"  
  
The toddler wailed even louder. "Car! Robbie took!"  
  
Yvette walked up to him, knelt down next to him and ruffled his hair until he stopped wailing. "It's alright. Sssh."  
  
"Mon auto," Jean-Luc sobbed.  
  
Yvette kissed his wet cheek. "I'll see if I can get it back for you, would that be okay?"  
  
Jean-Luc nodded.  
  
Yvette stood up, walked up to the nearby door of Robert's room and opened it .  
  
"Robert? Why did you take the car?"  
  
The boy looked at the toy car in his hands. "It's mine."  
  
"You've never played with it until now."  
  
"It's _mine_ ," Robert repeated stubbornly.  
  
"Come on, don't be so mean to your little brother - you only took the car away from him because you knew it would upset him. You don't really want to play with it." She reached out her hand. "Give it to me."  
  
He pouted.  
  
"I won't say this again, Robert."  
  
The boy stood up from his bed, walked up to his mother and handed her the toy car.  
  
"Thank you. And now, how about you playing with your brother _and_ the car? Wouldn't that be nice?"  
  
Robert turned away. "No."  
  
Yvette sighed. "Very well, if you don't want to... I can't force you. But I _do_ want you to know that I'm really disappointed in you. You're not behaving like a good brother should." She looked once more at him before she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.  
  
Robert looked at the door and clenched his hands into fists.  
  
He didn't want his annoying little brother to play with _his_ car.  
  
He didn't want his little brother _at all_.


	3. Chapter 3

_2308_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

 

"And this is grape juice, Jean-Luc. We make wine from it."  
  
The toddler reached out his hand.  
  
Maurice grabbed him just in time. "No, don't!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You'd contaminate it if you put your hand in it."  
  
"What's con.. contam..."  
  
Maurice chuckled. "Contaminate. It means making things dirty. Your hand would make the grape juice dirty." He gently pulled his son away from the huge grape juice vat and then smiled broadly at him while holding him. "One day all this in here will belong to Robert and you. Then _you_ can decide whether someone is allowed to put one's hand in the grape juice or not."  
  
Jean-Luc put his finger in his mouth and looked around.  
  
Maurice slowly began to walk."You see, this vineyard has been in the hands of our family for generations. Who knows, maybe Robert and you will decide to make it even bigger than it is now. And then, one day, your children and Robert's children will take over for you." He smiled once more at his son. "It has always been that way, you know?"


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

_2309_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

 

"Hello, Jean-Luc! Whoa - you've grown quite a bit!"  
  
The little boy squeaked excitedly when Uncle Alain, his favorite visitor, picked him up and tickled him. He giggled - and then he began to rummage through the pockets of Alain's vest.  
  
Yvette was horrified. " _Jean-Luc_! Behave yourself!"  
  
Alain laughed. "It's alright, it's my own damn fault, I _always_ have something for him in one of my pockets when I visit - and being the smart boy that he is, he's already figured that one out! Right, Jean-Luc?"

Jean-Luc, however, was too busy to listen - he had pulled something rather strange out of one of the pockets.

It was small, silver-colored and looked like as if it was meant to fly in some way. But it was not a plane or a helicopter or anything else he recognized - it had no wings whatsoever.

He had never seen such a strange toy.  
  
" _Dieu_!" Alain exclaimed when he noticed the boy's obvious confusion. "Is Maurice still on his 'no modern toys in here' - trip?"  
  
"I'm afraid so," Yvette replied. "And he most _definitely_ won't be pleased when he sees _this_."  
  
Alain gently ruffled Jean-Luc's hair. "Don't know what it is, huh?"  
  
The little boy shook his head.  
  
"This, Jean-Luc, is a starship. It can fly through space and visit other planets."  
  
 Jean-Luc looked at the toy. "Starship," he repeated, his eyes suddenly filled with excitement.


	5. Chapter 5

_2310_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

 

"Give it back, Robert! It's _my_ starship!"  
  
"Haha!" Robert raised his hand. "Come and get it!"  
  
"Robert!" Yvette exclaimed from behind.  
  
"What, Maman?"  
  
"Give your brother his starship!"  
  
Robert simply grinned nastily at Jean-Luc.  
  
"I _mean_ it, Robert!"  
  
Robert slowly lowered his arm – and then he threw the starship up in the air.  
  
Jean-Luc rushed forward, caught the starship, ran into his room, put the toy on his desk and examined it thoroughly in order to see if Robert had damaged it in any way. It _was_ his favorite, and he hated the mere thought of his brother even _touching_ it. Fortunately, Robert hadn't been interested in it at all when he had seen it - at least not until he had noticed how much the little ship meant to Jean-Luc.

His brother was not the only one who had a strange interest in the starship, though: Father had been furious when he'd seen it, so furious that he had actually _yelled_ at Uncle Alain. But he had not managed to convince Jean-Luc to throw his new toy away, not even by offering him to get him some other, bigger toy car instead.  
  
Maman, on the other hand, never got angry when Jean-Luc started talking about his starship and the dreams about space, aliens and other planets that came with it. She always listened to him and smiled, and she had even told him what the little letters on the ship meant - something that Jean-Luc had been wondering about ever since he had discovered them.  
  
"Every starship has a combination of letters and numbers on it. The letters are its name," she had explained.  
  
Jean-Luc remembered how he had asked what the name of _his_ toy ship was and he also remembered how Maman had looked around in order to make sure that Father wasn't around before she had said, "Enterprise. Your ship's name is Enterprise."


	6. Chapter 6

_2313_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

  
"Maman!"  
  
"I'm in here, Jean-Luc!"  
  
The boy ran into the huge kitchen. "I won a ribbon again, Maman!"  
  
Yvette wiped her hands on a small towel and then knelt down next to her son. "Jean-Luc, that's wonderful! Did you win it for your story about the little boy on a starship?"  
  
"Yes!" he beamed. "Madame Bouvier said it was very good and she liked how I described the starship!"  
  
He held up a red ribbon, Yvette took it and looked at the small plaque that was attached to it. "Jean-Luc Picard, 1st place." She ruffled her son's brown hair. "I'm _so_ proud of you! Would you like us to go and see if we can find a nice place for it right next to your other ribbons on the living room wall?"  
  
Jean-Luc nodded, his face filled with pride.  
  
Robert suddenly appeared in the doorway behind them, his school bag over his shoulder. "Salut, Maman."  
  
"Salut, Robert!" She held up the ribbon. "Look, your brother won this today!"  
  
The boy stared at it for a few seconds – and then he simply turned and walked away.  
  
Yvette sighed inwardly and then looked back at her younger son. "Come on, Jean-Luc... let's go and find a place for your ribbon."


	7. Chapter 7

_2315_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

 

"The Excelsior-class starship USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B." Jean-Luc read the headline out loud, then sighed and gently touched the picture below it.  
  
He had gone through the old-fashioned starship magazine over and over again ever since he had gotten it a few hours ago, and his favorite page was the one he was currently looking at - but not just because it featured a picture of the flagship: Below the picture was a huge article on Starfleet Academy.  
  
 _Starfleet_.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" Maurice suddenly demanded from right behind him.  
  
Jean-Luc jumped out of the chair in which he had been sitting and tried to hide the magazine behind his back, but it was too late: His father had already seen it.  
  
"Where did you get that? You know that I do _not_ allow such things in this house!"  
  
Jean-Luc bit his lower lip and said nothing.

"You're not supposed to sit around here anyway! You're supposed to be outside and help your brother and me with the grapes!" Maurice grabbed the magazine, took it into both hands and held it up right before Jean-Luc's eyes.

Then he ripped it apart.  
  
The sound of the old-fashioned paper ripping was more than just heartbreaking - Jean-Luc had gone through quite some trouble to even _get_ the magazine and now all he could do was stare at the tiny shreds of paper that were slowly dropping to the floor.

Maurice was not finished, however: He crumpled what was left of the magazine, walked up to the fireplace - and threw it into the flames.  
  
" _No_!" Jean-Luc was next to him in no time, but it was already too late: The starships were burning.  
  
Jean-Luc fought back the urge to cry - it would only have made his father angrier, and besides, there was nothing he could do.

Except for _one_ thing.

"I will join Starfleet one day," he said calmly.  
  
Maurice stared at him while Jean-Luc straightened himself up and met his father's gaze.  
  
There were no tears in his eyes.

Only determination.

 


	8. Chapter 8

_2320_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

"We don't _need_ a replicator, Yvette."  
  
"But things would be easier for us, Maurice! For example, it wouldn't take me so long to cook - I could help you outside more often!"  
  
"No." He folded his arms across his chest. "I don't want this kind of technology in here. And besides, I wouldn't want to eat replicated food anyway. I can do the work outside just fine. Robert and Jean-Luc are there, too."  
  
"Jean-Luc has quite a few important exams at the moment. I don't think you should ask him to help you outside every day."  
  
"Nonsense. He can study when we're done."  
  
"Maurice... don't you think you should encourage him some more? He _is_ a very good student."  
  
"What for? He won't need the best grades for running this vineyard."  
  
Yvette put her hand on her husbands shoulder. "I don't think he _wants_ to run the vineyard. He wants to join Starfleet."  
  
"Now don't _you_ start," Maurice snapped. "He will do as I say."  
  
"This is the 24th century, darling. Children no longer have to do what their father tells them to."  
  
"I did what _my_ father told me, too. It hasn't damaged _me_ in any way, now has it?"  
  
Yvette sighed inwardly. "No, of course not."


	9. Chapter 9

_2320_   
_LaBarre, France_   
  
  


"Jean-Luc?! "  
  
Jean-Luc looked at the tiny starship on his desk. He had almost finished painting its hull, which meant that he'd soon be able to put it into the small bottle that was already standing on his shelf right next to the one with the Promellian battle cruiser inside.   
  
This latest bottle ship was extremely special in more than one way - it was the good old USS Enterprise NCC-1701 herself. He had read about every single mission of the late James T. Kirk, and he had been with him while he had painted the ship's hull. He had been there when Kirk had fought against the Klingons, the Romulans and the Tholians, and he had imagined what it would have been like to -  
  
"JEAN-LUC! Where are you?!"  
  
He sighed and put the tiny paintbrush on his desk. "I'm in my room, Father!"  
  
A few seconds later the door to his room opened and Maurice marched in. "I've been calling you for ten minutes! Why didn't you answer?"   
  
"I was busy."  
  
Maurice looked at the starship on the desk. "These damn ships in bottles again – what is it that you want with them, anyway? They're a waste of time and effort!"  
  
Jean-Luc bit his lower lip. "Not to me," he muttered.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Nothing, Father. What is it that you wanted from me?"  
  
"You know what I want - you're supposed to be helping Robert and me outside!"  
  
"Oh. I forgot."  
  
"Of _course_ you did," Maurice said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You always and conveniently forget about your obligations to this family as soon as these damn starships are involved."  
  
"Father -"  
  
Maurice waved his hand. "I don't want to hear your excuses anymore. Come on, Robert is waiting for us."


	10. Chapter 10

 

_2320_  
 _LaBarre, France_  
  
  
  
  
Jean-Luc looked at the starship inside the bottle and smiled proudly.  
  
He had finished his work.  
  
Which... had not been easy.  
  
About a week ago his father had threatened to throw all his bottle ships away  – " _They distract you too much from your actual work_ "– and Jean-Luc, not about to take any chances, had put them all into a box that he kept under his bed and had continued to work on the Enterprise late at night after his parents had gone to bed.  
  
He was just about to put the bottle into the box that he had pulled out from under his bed when the door to his room opened. He froze in horror and then slowly turned his head, afraid to face the visitor - and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was his mother.  
  
Yvette smiled and looked at her son's hands that were still holding the small bottle. "Come on, put it into the box."  
  
Jean-Luc did as he had been told and then shoved the box back under the bed while his mother stepped into his room and closed the door behind her.

"I was a bit surprised when I noticed the light coming from your room. It's rather late," she said.  
  
"I had to finish it."  
  
"Your father would be very upset if he knew that you still have your bottles."  
  
"Will you tell him?"  
  
"No, I won't. Don't worry." She sat down next to him on his bed. "I _did_ come here to talk to you about your father, however." She paused for a few seconds before she continued. "You must think he's a very, very bad person. But... he's not."  
  
Jean-Luc looked at his hands and said nothing.  
  
Yvette sighed. "I know it's hard to believe or even imagine, but your father is simply _afraid_. Afraid that the vineyard will one day no longer be in the hands of the Picard family. If you leave us and join Starfleet, Robert will have to do it all on his own, and your father thinks he won't be able to handle it."

Jean-Luc opened his mouth in order to protest, but his mother raised her hand.  
  
"Hear me out, please. I know that nothing but Starfleet really matters to you - especially not the vineyard. Your father is very upset about this, and I could support his position a lot more forcefully, but... I know that you _belong_ up there. I can _feel_ it – and so can your father. And that makes him even more upset."

She put her hand on his shoulder.

"I want you to be happy, Jean-Luc. And if this means that you'll leave us and that Robert will have to handle things on his own at some point… then so be it. Your father is not going to make leaving easy for you – but I _do_ want you to know that you have _my_ full support. No matter what happens, I will _always_ be with you."  
  
Jean-Luc looked up and only when his mother gently touched his cheek did he notice the tears that were streaming down his face.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

 

_2322_   
_LaBarre, France_   
  


 

Jean-Luc looked at the small screen in front of him.  
  
 _'You have **1** new message._  
 _From: Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, Earth.'_  
  
The test results.  
  
They were here.

Finally.  
  
All he had to do was open the message and all his dreams would come true.  
  
He touched the screen.  
  
' _We regret to inform you that your test results did not meet the specified requirements..._ '  
  
He stared at the words in complete and utter horror - he could not believe what he was reading and yet it was true:  
  
For the first time in his life, he had failed.


	12. Chapter 12

_2322_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

  
  
  
"There you have it!" Maurice didn't even try to hide his satisfaction. "I told you they wouldn't accept you! I hope you'll finally come to your senses now...?"  
  
Jean-Luc simply stared at the table in front of him.  
  
Yvette put her hand on her husband's arm. "Maurice, please. Can't you see that he's completely shaken by what happened?"  
  
Another familiar voice suddenly came from the door. "Hey, why are you all sitting in the living room?"  
  
"Jean-Luc just told us that he won't be attending Starfleet Academy. His test results weren't good enough," Yvette said sadly.  
  
Robert grinned broadly. "How _awful_."  
  
"Robert, _please_."  
  
Jean-Luc still said nothing, he was too hurt by what had happened - but what hurt the most was that he found himself actually considering his father's point of view.  
  
What if he really wasn't Starfleet material?  
  
What if his destiny were indeed not the stars but grapes?  
  
He took a deep breath - and then he stood up from his chair and walked out of the room.


	13. Chapter 13

_2322_   
_LaBarre, France_   
  
  
  


 

"Mon Dieu! What happened, Jean-Luc? You look terrible!"  
  
"That's because I _feel_ terrible, Louis."  
  
"Don't tell me that the Starfleet Academy test results came in…?"  
  
"They did."  
  
"Oh. I see." Louis sat down next to his friend. "No point in asking about details, is there?"  
  
"No." Jean-Luc wiped away the tears that had begun to form in the corners of his eyes. "It's not fair, you know."  
  
"No, it's not," Louis agreed. "But then, life is rarely fair. Tell me one thing, though: Did you do your best?"  
  
"What kind of stupid question is _that?_ " Jean-Luc snapped. "Of _course_ I did my best!"  
  
Louis smiled. "Good. Then you'll do even better next time. What is it that they say? 'The only person you're truly competing against is yourself'."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You _will_ try again next year, right?"  
  
"I… I don't know yet…"  
  
"Oh, you _will_. "  
  
"But -"  
  
"Sssh. I know that your father _and_ your brother are trying to convince you that you're not good enough for Starfleet – but that's not true." He put his arm around Jean-Luc's shoulders. "You _are_ good enough. And, deep down inside, you know that as well as I do."


	14. Chapter 14

_2323_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

 

Jean-Luc looked at the computer screen.  
  
Again.  
  
A message from Starfleet Academy.  
  
Again.  
  
His hand was shaking so badly that he had to tap the screen three times before it accepted his request to open the message.  
  
' _We are pleased to inform you that your test results have met the specified requirements for..._ '  
  
Yvette - who was working in the garden - heard the triumphant scream from her son's room and smiled knowingly.  
  
He had made it.  



	15. Chapter 15

 

 

_**"When you walked out, you left us behind - and you're no son, you're no son of mine."** (Genesis, 'No Son Of Mine' **)**  
_

 

 

 

_2323_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

 

"So... you'll be leaving tomorrow."  
  
Jean-Luc, unsure of what to make of his father's rare presence in his room, nodded slowly.  
  
"I want you to listen very carefully now, son," Maurice said calmly and sat down on the bed. "I know I've been very hard on you in the past few years. I was concerned about our family, and I'll admit that, sometimes, I went a bit too far."

Jean-Luc said nothing.

"But that's behind us now, and I would like for us to have a fresh start. That's why I've come up with an offer." He took a deep breath before he continued. "Jean-Luc, if you decide _not_ to go to the Academy, I will make _you_ the sole future owner of the vineyard. Not Robert. _You_."  
  
Jean-Luc's jaw dropped and he stared at his father in complete and utter shock. He he had expected many things - but never this.  
  
"You are much better than your brother is when it comes to running things. You could, no, you _would_ make our Château Picard even more famous."  
  
Jean-Luc was still at a loss for words, he knew how much the vineyard meant to his father - and he also knew how much it had taken him to admit that he would rather have Jean-Luc in charge than Robert.

"You're 18, old enough to make your own decisions, which is why I've..." Maurice pulled out an old-fashioned sheet of paper, "... already set up the contract."  
  
Jean-Luc stared at the piece of paper in disbelief - it was indeed a contract that would make him the sole future owner of the Picard vineyard. Robert's name appeared only at the bottom in a short paragraph that stated that he would be in charge only if something were to happen to Jean-Luc.  
  
"So, what do you say?" Maurice asked. "Give up this foolish idea of being in space. Starfleet will bring you to a bad end. Stay here and run the vineyard, first with me and later on your own."  
  
Jean-Luc ran his hand across his face, unsure as to how to react. Should he be upset that his father forced him into such a decision at this point in his life? Or should he be happy that, after all that had happened between the two of them, his father _did_ seem to trust him after all?  
  
He looked at his little silver starship that he had just been about to put into his Starfleet Academy bag when his father had knocked on the door.

_'No. All this is just one last attempt to get me to do what **he** wants.'_

"I appreciate the offer, Father, but I won't sign this. I _can't_. Starfleet is where I want to be."

"Is that your final word?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Maurice glared at his son. "Do you realize that you're destroying your family's heritage?"  
  
"What?"

"You only think of yourself. _Your_ plans. _Your_ life. What about your obligations to your family?!"  
  
"Father, the vineyard is _your_ dream. You can't force it on me. Besides, give Robert a bit more credit - he _can_ handle things. And if not, you will still be there to instruct him."

"I need _both_ of you here!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Father. I've made my decision."  
  
Maurice didn't answer right away, but when he did his voice was filled with resentment. "Very well. Have it your way. Leave us behind. But don't expect anything from me again. _Ever_."  
  
He stood up, walked out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.  
  
Jean-Luc buried his face in his hands.

He could have lived with his father yelling at him about how Starfleet was the incarnation of all that was evil.

He could also have lived with his father predicting that he would be back home sooner than he thought.  
  
But he found it very, very hard to live with, that, for the first time in his life, he had seen actual desperation in his father's eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

_2323_   
_LaBarre, France_

 

 

"Hurry up a bit, Jean-Luc. The shuttle won't wait for you."  
  
Jean-Luc picked up his bag. "Yes, I know."  
  
His mother smiled at him and then kissed his cheek. "I wish you all the luck in the world - err, _galaxy,_ I mean."  
  
Jean-Luc smiled sheepishly and only when his mother looked directly at him did he notice the tears in her eyes. "Maman, don't cry."  
  
She wiped the tears away. "I can't help it, I'm so proud of you! But, at the same time, I just know that the house will be empty without you..."  
  
"Father and Robert are there, and no doubt glad that I'm gone. After all, they're not even here to say goodbye."  
  
"They're busy with the vines."  
  
"Yeah. Of course."  
  
"Try to understand them, Jean-Luc."  
  
"I don't think I ever will, Maman."  
  
"It'll be fine if you at least _try_ to." She briefly took his hand and squeezed it. "And now go, before I decide to keep you here."  
  
Jean-Luc smiled once more at her, took one last look around - and then walked out of the door.


End file.
